I meant in anime. It's the term used for a male that passes as a very cute and attractive female. They don't necessarily identify as female.
I would not apply it to the transgendered community in the slightest. I would never use this term for a real, existing individual unless they do so themselves (and yes I know plenty that do, as around here we use it as a playful and proud term - the attractive part is the key point.) But I would understand those that don't wish to be called that, and I wouldn't anyway without knowing them first.
I was just informing the OP that if they wanted easy access to a big list, google that term and well look at my actual post and what it brought up.
I did not mean deliberate offense. I'm used to speaking openly based on my own community, out of context on the internet I can see how it can offend. Sorry about that.

Sheesh, that poster in the link of all those dozens of trap characters are just insane. So many characters with perfectly feminine looks, anime gender-bending sure likes to push the boundary doesn't it?

I'm a little perturbed, though, that characters known as traps (which is exactly what Bridget from Guilty Gear has always been referred to as) are somehow inherently more appropriate or better for crossplaying. It's hitting that sensitive line between "crossplay" just being wearing a costume for a character whose gender is not the same as yours, and the actual transgender issues.

At the simplest, it doesn't matter what the preferred gender of the character is, it's what the outfit looks like. It also doesn't really matter what your own gender is, a costume is a costume.

At the most complicated, for those who are trans and very sensitive about how they present in both their cosplay hobby as well as real life, implying that a boy who dresses like a girl is "made for crossplay" can be very offensive, depending on where they are in their transition and what their feelings are for gender-stereotyped clothing.

I still maintain that a costume is a costume and gender presentation doesn't matter. Particularly when it comes to "traps" and other gender-benders: because what's more important, that a girl can dress as a boy who dresses like a girl, or that a person can dress like a character? It's kind of sticky and I'm not real comfortable with the suggestion that "traps" are somehow better for crossplay.

__________________Founder and President, Madison Area Costuming Society, a chapter of the International Costumer's Guild

Grell Sutcliff from Kuroshitsuji, read that she´s actually a woman in a guy´s body (MtF) according to a manga magazine that I read stating that. There is also Arachne from Angel Sanctuary who is a guy crossdressing which had me confused for a good while.

I'm a little perturbed, though, that characters known as traps (which is exactly what Bridget from Guilty Gear has always been referred to as) are somehow inherently more appropriate or better for crossplaying. It's hitting that sensitive line between "crossplay" just being wearing a costume for a character whose gender is not the same as yours, and the actual transgender issues.

At the simplest, it doesn't matter what the preferred gender of the character is, it's what the outfit looks like. It also doesn't really matter what your own gender is, a costume is a costume.

At the most complicated, for those who are trans and very sensitive about how they present in both their cosplay hobby as well as real life, implying that a boy who dresses like a girl is "made for crossplay" can be very offensive, depending on where they are in their transition and what their feelings are for gender-stereotyped clothing.

I still maintain that a costume is a costume and gender presentation doesn't matter. Particularly when it comes to "traps" and other gender-benders: because what's more important, that a girl can dress as a boy who dresses like a girl, or that a person can dress like a character? It's kind of sticky and I'm not real comfortable with the suggestion that "traps" are somehow better for crossplay.

I think the point was more "these characters usually aren'y crossplayed, and should be more" type thread..Rather then the whole "girl cosplaying a guy that dresses like a girl" thing.

...I think it's more about the fact that since the characters pass as the other gender so perfectly, people of the oposite gender can probably pull them off more realistically.
Or at least that's how I interpreted it. I think it even counts with characters who aren't even crossdressing, but just look so much more like the other gender (or what people expect of it).

Example:
-Hideyoshi Kinoshita from Baka and Test - Is male, identifies as such but looks very girly and is often mistaken for a girl by his peers.

-Ruka Urushibara from Steins;Gate (But I guess this is up for debate since he later expresses a wish to be female, so maybe it wouldn't even be crossplay...Oh well.)

-Benio from Zone-00 and to some extent also his brother Benten - They dress and have their hair in an EXTREMELY feminine style, and are often also mistaken for females. I've seen some well done male Bentens (though not often), but not one single male Benio at all. Quite a few women pulled them off very convincingly though.

And as a rare female example:
Sakura Oogami from Dangan Ronpa and Undine from Claymore - They are women, but with extremely muscular figures, very broad backs and ''rougher'' features. They do dress femininely though. I've never seen Undine done before, but at least all the realistic looking Sakuras I've seen have been athletic men. (And I love them. Sakura is so awesome, but I'd look so...faily as her. *sigh*)

And in an off note on the Poison matter, since I'm a fan of her's:
I definitely don't think she's a good example, seeing as she looks and identifies as female, trans or not.
It seems like a crossplay of her would be an extremely ambitious project, thanks to her revealing outfit and pronounced curves. Not that it can't be done, it just seems as smart as telling a new male cosplayer that Yoko Littner would be an easy first time crossplay project. x'D
Oh, and agreeing with/confirming TylerJones. NA releases did not change Poison into a Newhalf, it was already written on official Japanese concept sketches, so one can assume she's been that way from the start.
For more info: click! Also a follow up here.

...I think it's more about the fact that since the characters pass as the other gender so perfectly, people of the opposite gender can probably pull them off more realistically.

Ding Ding Ding... We have a winner. Of course anyone can cosplay as anyone, but I imagine that it is easier to rationalize a person with male broad shoulders crossplaying by them saying "Yeah I'm not a slim petite girl, but the character i'm crossplaying isn't female either." if they feel they want to help justify them attempting to "pull off" the character.

For the record, I'm in favor of any crossplay where effort was put into it.

__________________
People say they like irony, but nobody wants to pay for it.

This story is widespread but untrue. I heard it and repeated it for a while myself, but it turns out Poison was always listed as "newhalf" or a Japanese term for MtF transgendered in the Japanese Final Fight manual. Capcom execs have stated some confusing and contradictory things since then, though.

Wow, I actually got a different story for Poison.. How many different stories are out there? (3+ in this thread alone)
What I heard was that Capcom was sent complaints from femi nazi's (or sent to court or something) for having a highly sexualized female in the game (maybe also along this lines of a female getting beat up as well..?)
So Capcom's response was.. "Oh, Poison is really MtF" .. and that shut everyone up.